Thursday, March 30, 2006

Audio Moments (Sunday, 26 Feb.)

When the diocesan staff thrust a digital audio recorder in my hands, saying, “Here! Figure it out!” I was more than a little non-plussed. I am not a techno-whiz. But with Rick’s help, I figured out the basics of how to operate the darn thing. And I recorded much of the music in the Sunday services.

The pay-off came after church on Sunday. I went strolling around the compound, heading toward the music festival. But I encountered Deborah under the big mango tree, preparing to teach a Bible study class.

Here is Deborah with Sylvester and Mama Margaret. Deborah had just given them the anointing-oil that our Bishop had blessed.

But more mundane treats were to come!

I don’t know what made me do this, but I showed Deborah and her friends the audio recorder and asked if they might like to hear the music I had recorded in the Cathedral this morning. Boy, did they!

I gave Mama Margaret the headphones, and she burst out in a wonderful smile and immediately started moving with the music.

Then Sylvester started moving and smiling to beat the band too!

The longer we stayed under the tree, the more people gathered. It seemed they all wanted to hear this music which they had created, but I suppose they had never heard it before.

Once I had introduced them to the technology, they were eager to share it with each other. Here, William is at the left. His smile alone is testimony enough for the pleasure he gained from those sounds.

Sylvester shares the joyous sounds with Morris.

Pretty soon, I noticed that children were gathering around, curious about what we were doing. I had to gain this girl's confidence. She did not seem to know what we were putting these people's heads. So I knelt down in front of her, put the headphones in my own ears, then gestured, asking if I could put them in hers. And she did. And the smile she gave when she heard the music was ... well ... worth its weight in gold.

It was so much fun to share this music with them! One of the fun things the photos cannot capture: Everyone who put-on the headphones immediately started moving or dancing to the sounds of the music. And then I would notice it, then they would notice it, then we would both break out in hilarity.

This was a very, very good day. I hope the photos will speak for themselves.

And our diocese has hopes of putting audio onto this webpage. I hope they'll be able to do it soon.

No comments:

WorldTimeServer Clock

Lui, Sudan

Subscribe To LuiNotes

About Me

I'm a progressive Episcopalian raised in the South and now (thanks to a job change) living in the conservative Midwest. I worship at Grace Episcopal Church in Jefferson City. I love the Episcopal Church, which rescued me from a life of wandering meaningless and gave me a way to explore my faith and belief in God.
On any given topic, I am prone to yammer-on way too long. Sometimes I ponder way more than I should.
A blog-friend said that I demonstrate a "muscled love for our Church." I hope I can live up to that.
And right now I'm pondering Blogger's challenge to define myself in 1200 characters.